The rainbow seekers guide to seeking rainbows

Will

Will watched this man carefully.

This was Hades. This was Nico's father, the man he had heard so many things about, and none of them good.

What was he going to do?

Nothing bad had happened yet. So far, Hades seemed like a normal person. Possibly fatherly. But then again, didn't they all? Will had dealt with a few cases of abuse, and he had certainly read enough files of them. They always seemed normal. They always managed to mask whatever terrible part of themselves drove them to do the evil deeds that landed others in hospitals.

So, no. Will was not convinced.

Hades led them through what must've been the foyer - it looked alarmingly like Nico's place, with the black and red velvet, a vampire's colour scheme - and through some corridors, until they reached what Will assumed to be a dining room.

It looked sad, to say the least.

There were two people stationed outside the room, both of them clad in black. When they came into view their posture corrected visibly. It made Will wonder what the punishment for slouching was.

"Good afternoon sir."

With a flick of his wrist, Hades made them gulp and open the door.

Inside the room was a long, ebony table, with silver seats on the sides and at the head. It was pretty obvious that that spot was reserved for the one and only Hades.

Will wondered if that meant that he and Nico would have to be separated.

"Please, come in." As expected, Hades led them both towards the end of the table, at which he seated himself.

Nico sat on one side, and Will sat beside Nico.

He certainly didn't care.

Hades visibly noted this behaviour, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he gestured for somebody hidden in the shadows to bring them a jug of water. Will had to admit that he was rather surprised that Hades was that willing to trust water somebody else had given him. Maybe he understood power differently to the kings of the underworld.

"Would you like anything else to drink or will water do?"

"Do you have apple juice?" Will didn't know why he asked for it. Maybe it was to alleviate the extremely obvious tension, maybe it was just to see whether Hades had it or not. But either way, Will wanted his apple juice.

"No, unfortunately." Hades spoke slightly testily. "Is there anything else?"

"I'll just have water then, thanks." Will felt as if he had achieved some small victory over the man, no matter how stupid. Nico's father did not know the wonders of apple juice, and Will loved that.

Nico looked vaguely comfortable when Hades turned to him and asked, "And what about you, son?"

"Water too, please."

Hades nodded, and gestured to the reluctant person - person? Servant? - that they could leave. They slunk into the shadows where Will knew they were, but he couldn't see them anymore.

It made him feel slightly unnerved, but then again so did everything about this place.

Will leant against the back of his chair, and winced slightly when the metal embellishment dug into his back in a weird way. It pressed into an odd spot between his shoulder blades - a place he couldn't reach without looking weird. The area started to itch, and Will was beginning to feel extremely awkward. It must've showed on his face, because Hades looked at him with a slight frown.